Sonita

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Movie
German title Sonita
Original title Sonita
Country of production Germany , Switzerland , Iran
original language English , Farsi , Dari
Publishing year 2015
length 91 minutes
Rod
Director Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami
production Gerd Haag ,
Kerstin Krieg
music Moritz Denis
camera Behrouz Badrouj ,
Ali Mohammad Ghasemi ,
Mohammad Haddadi ,
Arastoo Givi ,
Torben Bernard ,
Parviz Arefi ,
Ala Mohseni
cut Rune Schweitzer

Sonita is a German - Swiss - Iranian documentary by Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami about Sonita Alizadeh , an Afghan artist and activist against forced marriage . The film premiered on November 20, 2015 at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam , where it won two awards. From May 26, 2016 he could be seen in Germany.

content

19-year-old Sonita fled Afghanistan to Iran as a child without her parents and lives with her sister in Tehran . She persistently pursues her dream of becoming a rapper . In her texts she tells her story as a refugee girl in another country and wants to encourage other young people. Her plans are jeopardized when her mother comes to Tehran to bring Sonita back to Afghanistan and get married there. The family needs the $ 9,000 offered by the family of the husband chosen for Sonita. With the help of director Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami, Sonita shoots a music video in which she protests against her forced marriage. The video is viewed half a million times on YouTube ; Thanks to international attention, Sonita manages to escape marriage. With the help of the Strongheart organization , she received a visa to travel to the United States and a scholarship from the Wasatch Academy in Utah .

History of origin

Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami met Sonita in a project that supports refugee girls in Tehran. She recognized Sonita's artistic talent and decided to make a documentary about the young musician. It was only during filming that Sonita's mother decided to marry her daughter. Maghami was torn between her documentary principle of not interfering with the documented events and the need to help Sonita. She chose the latter, and the film developed in a completely different direction than planned.

Awards

At the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam Sonita received the audience award and the youth jury award. At the Sundance Film Festival , the film was awarded the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award. The film won prizes at numerous other festivals, including the Munich International Documentary Film Festival .

Web links